Panthers right tackle Jeff Otah has left training camp to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Otah missed three games last season with a torn meniscus in the same knee.

Reports say the Panthers are hopeful that the former first-round pick will be available in Week 1. Otah is one of the more promising young right tackles in the game, but injuries have hindered his development thus far.

There are murmurs that Panthers rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen is merely battling for the second string job behind starter Matt Moore. When Clausen was drafted in the second round, many expected that the Golden Domer would compete for the No. 1 job right away. After all, Clausen is an accurate passer who ran a pro style offense under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. And, let’s be honest: the Panthers wouldn’t have drafted him if they were 100 percent confident in Matt Moore.

But ESPN’s Pat Yasinkas writes that Moore is looking sharp in training camp thus far, while Clausen is running with the third team. Moore posted impressive numbers in his five starts last season, going 4-1 and finishing the season with a passer rating of 98.5. But on film, it was apparent that the soon-to-be 26-year-old lacks ideal arm strength and first-class pocket presence. Once opponents become more familiar with Moore, they’ll exploit his shortcomings. (We’ve seen guys like this before…Derek Anderson and Tommy Maddox are the first two who come to mind.)

Clausen might be a distant backup right now, but make no mistake: he’ll be relevant at some point in 2010. Don’t expect him to stay behind fellow rookie Tony Pike (a sixth-rounder) on the depth chart.

--Giants safety Kenny Phillips is also on PUP . Phillips is trying to come back from microfracture surgery that wiped out virtually all of his ’09 season.

--David Tyree and Ike Hilliard both signed contracts with the Giants so that they could retire as members of Big Blue.

--Chester Pitts finally found a home. The longtime Texan and his surgically-repaired knee signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks. Seattle runs a zone-blocking scheme that is very similar to the one Pitts worked in under Gary Kubiak in Houston.

--Derrick Burgess has upset the Patriots by not showing up for training camp. He is leaning towards retirement.

The likelihood that he will find one has been narrowed further, provided you believe the comments made by A.J. Smith about Owens to the San Diego Union-Tribune 's Nick Canepa:

“We’re all set right now with our receivers,” says Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith, back from vacation a week before the opening of training camp. “I don’t want to be involved. A lot of people have us targeted [for Owens], but they know I wouldn’t do it.

In fact, Smith acknowledges in the same article, when referring to Jackson and Pro Bowl left tackle Marcus McNeill , that, "it's over with ... I think they're going to be here for six games, and then think they're going to be free." Yet, they still have clearly zero interest in the oft-troubled wideout.

Think about it -- he's been rejected by the Panthers (Jon Beason, who practically laughed at the notion of TO coming to Carolina in an online chat ), the Redskins , the Bengals (even though Chad Ochocinco was reportedly pleading the brass to ink him), and now the Chargers. All of those teams need help at wideout, and yet, Owens can't find a home.

Adam Schefter tweets that Drew Rosenhaus texted him today to say he's "very confident" that Owens "will have a home within a few weeks," but making the presumption that someone will ink TO -- particularly given all the wideout-needy teams that have passed already -- just based on an agent's PR manuevers seems pretty optimistic.

Of course, injuries happen, even in training camp, and it's likely some team that will get desperate and give Owens a short-term, incentive-laden deal. But, on the bright side, even that doesn't happen, he's always got a future as a reality show sidekick . So there's that.

-- Will Brinson

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Andy and Josh have been ranking the various positions recently , and while the quarterback rankings have yet to come out, I feel reasonably safe in predicting that you won't see the words "Cleveland Browns" anywhere near that particular post. (Unless they go all opposite day on me and drop the "Five Most Boring Quarterback Battles in NFL History" list, in which case, well, what can you do?)

"It's really Jake's job to lose, and he did a great job during OTAs," Mangini said. "I couldn't have been happier with him, not just in terms of the way he learned the information but the way he ran the offense."

This seems like pretty good news for Browns' fans, no?

After all, if you're going to sign someone who spent last season [figuratively] murdering the Panthers before getting benched for an unknnown in Matt Moore, and then pay him SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS in the first year of a two-year deal, I suppose it's better to have that money being [figuratively] burned on the field instead of the bench.

(Quick aside: Let us not forget that had John Fox and Marty Hurney turned to Moore sooner, the 'Cats could have potentially made the playoffs and saved them from the awkwardness of playing the role of lame duck this year. But I digress.)

There's even MORE good news from the Mangini interview: Seneca Wallace looked good as well, with Mangini stating that it's "important that Seneca get some reps with the [first-teamers], so that if he goes in he does have some time with the group."

Earlier today we did a Terrell Owens update about his desire to play in New England and disinterest in playing for Todd Haley in Kansas City. In a follow-up, check out these words from loquacious, outspoken Panthers linebacker Jon Beason in an NFL.com chat:

"There's no way T.O. could be a Panther. Based on the fact that our ownership and coaches believe that the locker room is important and based on T.O.'s history, for whatever reason, he's been a distraction in the locker room."

P.S. Beason and Owens just so happen to share the same agent (Drew Rosenhaus).

--Andy Benoit

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It sounds like Carolina WR Steve Smith – who’s sustained two broken arms in the past seven months – could be back in time for the team’s final preseason game.

According to the NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora , the Panthers are hopeful he can return in time for the Steelers exhibition game Sept 2. Even if he isn’t ready for that contest, the team, La Canfora writes, is confident Smith will be ready for the beginning of the regular season.

As you’ll recall , Smith broke his arm in June while diving for a pass in a flag football game.

--Josh Katzowitz

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In the past two seasons, Keydrick Vincent started all 30 games he played with the Carolina Panthers. Now, he’ll get a chance to work with the Buccaneers offensive linemen - and maybe take somebody's job.

The St. Petersburg Times writes Tampa Bay has signed Vincent to a two-year contract, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the deal is worth $4.5 million.

It’s an interesting move for the Buccaneers, who have been using Jeremy Zuttah at left guard. Zuttah is a third-year player, so perhaps the Buccaneers like Vincent and his nine years of experience. Or perhaps the club wants Vincent – a solid run-blocker – to push for Zuttah’s starting spot to try to get more production out of RBs Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward.

Or maybe the team is trying to buy some insurance in case LT Donald Penn doesn’t sign a new contract. Zuttah, after all, played some offensive tackle while at Rutgers.

--Josh Katzowitz

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